Telegram-herald., 1887-08-01
HEAVEN PORTRAYED
WHAT DEPARTED ONES saE DOING.
Ds. fslaz@xe Gives His frlsnds f.ir Notice
That Hs Wal Nisif Ihsan An IA
Hs4ssn-wh whaF Departed
Ones Arc Doing.


Ca tie ~EmpioyInent cf Heaven" and MS
text Ezekisl j, /; Vow it come 10 pasS ia the
thirteenth year, "a tbs fourth Inonth. ia The
nth day of the uonth, - | wzs among the
canuges by tls r.ser " CLebsF, that the
heaFens were opened
Ezrael via Ot1srs. had been expatris.ed
ard while lea foreign slavery was standing on
tie bsnss Of the r.ysl canal which he and
other ssrfs had been condemned 70 dix by tas
order OF Ne8uchsdnszzar-this royal canal.
IN the tex. called tie river o. Chebsr-ths
igustF.0Ds exile had visions Of heaven. m
deed. 10 > almost always 50 that the brightes,
visions of heaven come not 70 those who are
"a mountain top ef prosperity, but 70 some
john on deso.ate Patsnos, or 10 some Paul in
Aamertine dungeon, or 70 some Ezeklel
standing on the banks Of a ditch he had been
compelled - cig-yea, % the weary, 20 the
heart broken, 10 those whom sorrow has ban
ishe.L
The text IS very particular 10 give us the
exact time OF rhe vision II was in the thrti-
Ell year, ard in the fourth month"; and ia the
fifth day Of the month. So you have had
visions OF earth YOU shall never forget. You
remember the year. you remember the month,
you remember the day. you remember the
ion this morning and it DO in the sixth
mouth and ia the fourth day Of the month!
Tue question is often silently asked, though
perhaps never auaibiy propounded: "What
are our departed Christian friends doing
nowF The question is more easily answered
than you might perhaps suppose. Though
there has come no recent intelligence from
the heavenly city and we seem dependent
think we may from strongest inference de-
eide what are the present occupations of our
transferred kinsfolk-
After God has made nature he never
eradicateS the chief characteristics OF its tenn
permanent. You never knew a man phleg-
matte in temperament 70 become sanguine in
temperament. You never knew a man san
Ruinc IN temperament 20 become phlegmatic
in temperament. Conversion plants new
principles in the soul, but Paul and John are
Just as different from each other after con-
version as thew were Different from each other
before conversion Ii conversion does not
eradicate the prominent characteristics of tho
temperament, neither will death eradicate
them.
You have, then, only by a sum in subtrac-
ton and a sum in addition to decide what are
the employments OF your departed friends in
the better world. You are 10 subtract from
them all earthly grossness and add all earthly
goodness, and then you are 10 come to the
conclusion that they arc doing now in
heaven what in their best moments they did
on earth The reason that 50 many people
never start for hsayen IS because they could
not stand it il they got there if it should turn
out TO be she rigid and formal place some
people photograph it.
We Ike to come TO church. but we would
not want to stay here to next Christmas. We
like 10 hear the hallelujah chorus, but we
would not want to hear it all tie time for
fifty centuries. Il might be on some great
occasion il would be possibly comfortable TO
wear a crown OF gold weighing several
pounds. bat it wo-id be an afiliction TO wear
such crown forever In other words, we
Iun the descriptions of heaven into the
ground, while we make that which was in
tended as especial and celebrative TO be the
exclusive employment OF the heaven. You
might rs well. If asked 10 describe the habits
OF American society. describe a Decoration
Day, or a Fourth Ct July, or an autumnal
Thanksgiving, as though 1t were all the time
that way.
am not going to speculate in regard TO the
future world, but / must by inevitable laws
Of inference and deduction and common sense
conclude that in heaven we viii be just as diff
feTent from each other as We are now differ
e1t. and hence that there VIII be at least as
many different employments in the celestial
world as there are employments here. Christ
Is . be tho great love, the great joy, the great
rapture. the great worshipof heaven; but viii
that abolish employment. No more than
loves On eartb-paternal. flial, fraternal, CON
lu~al lovc-abOlish earthly occupation.
Ia the first place. / remark that AL those Of
cu- departed Christian friends who On earth
foncd great JOY In the tine arts are now in
duiging their tastes IN the same direction. On
earth they had their gladdest pleasures amid
pictures and statuary, and IN tho study Of the
laws OF light and shade and perspective
Have You any idea that that afliuence Of
faculty ct death collapsed and perished! Why
-. when there j. more for them to look at.
md they have keonor appreciation Of tie
boautfal. and they stand amid the very looms
where the sunsets and the rainbOws and the
spring mornings are voveai
Are you 50 obtuss &c 20 suppose that be-
causo to painter 6rcFg lis easel nnd the
sculptor h.s chissi and tee sn-ravcr his knife
that therefore taat taste. aicl he was en-
lar-ia- ard inssnsifying for forty or ffty
yeas. is entirely oci;tsfassSi 1hesc artists
or ttcsa friends o. crt. on earth worked "a
COARSE u-a-sri-l r-d With imperfect brain end
ci-h frau hand Now they have carried
their ort ia:o larger liberties ond into wider
circumfeTezee. They arc az their old busi-
ness ysr, bus without the fatigues, without
tas limitations. without the hindrancss Of
tie terrestrial studio.
Rarhael cccid now improve upon his mas
terplsco Il "Micbaei ths Archangel~ now that
Ia hss seen him. and could improve upon bis
masterpiece of tie Holy Family now that
ho has visited then Michael Angelo could
better present tie last Judgment sfter be
has ssen - fash end heard the rumbling
batserins rams oi "a thunder Exquisite
coio7s here. grsceful hnss here, pow
elful chisroscuro here. bls I an per
sealed thst The graDdsT stDdi0s sud
TIE brighter galleries are higher I'd
bv the endinS marble stairs - TIE serri-
chre. ard that Turner and Holman, Tunt
ard Reu brandt snd TITAN ard PsuI ve-
rouesa, If they exercised saving faita n ths
C1rist whom theJ portrayed upon th@ canvas
.re painters yet. bat teefr strength o. fscuitv
rsultirlied ten thousand fold The reason
that cd tex swsT their eve ard their hard
.nd taeir ursin vss that BE- might give them
sonerhiur rscre En1ter. more rieidly. naora
a. sul. more EultIpiItaut
Do bet. Therefore. be nieis1cholv srnouz
TIE TAPESTRIES ard the kric = krsc ard the am
b~~iserieS ard ~ vs-er ceiesS ard The works
q az wkich ycur departed fri-r = us-d 20
sznirs To pcs So. ! sn sorry thsT hsd
e lezrs al taeSs thirzs Rather ssv: 4" I
sm sIai thsv have gore ID 70 higher srtistic
crpcrr'sr ~ snd srEreC1af3oo- Our friends
We feu-a 60 ruch 5cT IN 81 Gre sTts n
earta xre now hixur iss.ng n Lcarrss snd
IzrKru1tCurEs ~sles a.